Cobràlion emblem
COBRÀLION/koʊˈbreɪl.i.ən/ · (koh-BRAY-lee-uhn)
Steven Larson at the grand piano
Steven Larson

CLASSICAL
REPERTOIRE

The Classical Foundation & Technical Architecture of Steven Larson

"To completely rewrite the rules of physical execution, one must first master the absolute limits of the historical canon."

The following manifesto documents the expansive classical repertoire absorbed, analyzed, and mastered by Steven Larson. Spanning centuries of foundational keyboard literature, this corpus represents more than a performance history; it is the comprehensive structural grid from which the modern discoveries of Piano Plasticity and Hyperminimalism were forged.

From the absolute contrapuntal independence of Johann Sebastian Bach to the volcanic physical endurance demanded by the ultra-virtuosic masterworks of the 19th and 20th centuries, this repertoire serves as the definitive structural proof of the sub-cortical processing capacity underlying the Cobràlion ecosystem.

I.

THE MONUMENTS: COMPLETE CYCLES

Johann Sebastian Bach

The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (Complete)

  • Prelude & Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 847
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 3 in C-sharp Major, BWV 848
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 4 in C-sharp Minor, BWV 849
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 5 in D Major, BWV 850
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 851
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 7 in E-flat Major, BWV 852
  • Prelude in E-flat Minor & Fugue in D-sharp Minor No. 8, BWV 853
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 9 in E Major, BWV 854
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 10 in E Minor, BWV 855
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 11 in F Major, BWV 856
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 12 in F Minor, BWV 857
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 13 in F-sharp Major, BWV 858
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 14 in F-sharp Minor, BWV 859
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 15 in G Major, BWV 860
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 16 in G Minor, BWV 861
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 17 in A-flat Major, BWV 862
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 18 in G-sharp Minor, BWV 863
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 19 in A Major, BWV 864
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 20 in A Minor, BWV 865
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 21 in B-flat Major, BWV 866
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 22 in B-flat Minor, BWV 867
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 23 in B Major, BWV 868
  • Prelude & Fugue No. 24 in B Minor, BWV 869

Two-Part Inventions (Complete)

  • Inventions Nos. 1–15, BWV 772–785

Additional Works

  • Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
  • Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, BWV 903
  • Italian Concerto, BWV 971

Ludwig van Beethoven

The 32 Piano Sonatas (Complete Cycle)

  • Sonatas No. 1 through No. 32, Op. 2 to Op. 111

The 5 Piano Concertos (Complete Cycle)

  • Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15
  • Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19
  • Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37
  • Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58
  • Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 "Emperor"

Franz Liszt

Années de Pèlerinage (Complete Cycle)

  • Première année: Suisse (Nos. 1–9, complete)
  • Deuxième année: Italie (Nos. 1–7, complete)
  • Supplément: Venezia e Napoli (Nos. 1–3, complete)
  • Troisième année (Nos. 1–7, complete)

Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses (Complete Cycle)

  • Nos. 1–10, complete (including Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude & Funérailles)
II.

THE HISTORICAL GRID: MAJOR SOLO REPERTOIRE

Franz Liszt

  • Piano Sonata in B Minor, S.178
  • Großes Konzertsolo, S.176
  • Scherzo und Marsch, S.177
  • Zwei Konzertetüden (Waldesrauschen, Gnomenreigen)
  • Wagner/Liszt: Isolde's Liebestod, S.447
  • Wagner/Liszt: Fantasy on Themes from Rienzi, S.439

Johannes Brahms

  • Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24
  • Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5
  • Fantasien, Op. 116
  • Rhapsody in B Minor, Op. 79, No. 1
  • Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118, No. 2

Frédéric Chopin

  • Andante Spianato & Grande Polonaise Brillante, Op. 22
  • Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 23
  • Scherzo No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 20
  • Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 31
  • Polonaise in A-flat Major, Op. 53 "Heroic"
  • Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-sharp Minor, Op. 66
  • Selected Etudes (Op. 10 No. 5 "Black Keys", Op. 10 No. 12 "Revolutionary")
  • Selected Nocturnes (Op. 9 No. 2, Op. 27 No. 2, Op. 32 No. 1, Op. 48 No. 1, Op. 55 No. 1, Op. 62 No. 2, BI 49, BI 108)
  • Prelude in F Minor, Op. 28, No. 18

Sergei Rachmaninoff

  • Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 36
  • Selected Preludes & Etudes-Tableaux (Op. 3 No. 2, Op. 23 No. 2, Op. 23 No. 5, Op. 39 No. 9)
  • Moment Musical in E-flat Minor, Op. 16, No. 2
  • Rimsky-Korsakov/Rachmaninoff: Flight of the Bumblebee

Robert Schumann

  • Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 14
  • Humoreske in B-flat Major, Op. 20
  • Fantasiestücke, Op. 12 (No. 2, Aufschwung)
  • Toccata in C Major, Op. 7

Franz Schubert

  • Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, D. 960
  • Fantasy in C Major, Op. 15 "Wanderer", D. 760
  • Four Impromptus, Op. 90, D. 899
  • Marche Militaire, D. 733

Franz Joseph Haydn

  • Selected Sonatas (Hob. XVI: 19, 23, 37, 41, 46, 48, 49, 50, 52)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

  • Piano Sonata in F Major, K. 332
  • Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 333
  • Piano Sonata in D Major, K. 576

Domenico Scarlatti

  • Selected Sonatas (L. 23, 35, 87, 95, 150, 171, 361, 368, 454, 461)
III.

THE EXTRA-EXTREME GAUNTLETS

20th Century & High Virtuosity

Igor Stravinsky

Three Movements from Petroushka

Mili Balakirev

Islamey: Oriental Fantasy

Modest Mussorgsky

Pictures at an Exhibition

Sergei Prokofiev

Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 ("War Sonata")

Sergei Prokofiev

Toccata in D Minor, Op. 11

Béla Bartók

Piano Sonata, Sz. 80

Claude Debussy

L'Isle Joyeuse, Clair de Lune, Rêverie, Jardins sous la pluie, Ballade, La Cathédrale Engloutie

Enrique Granados

Allegro de Concierto

Heitor Villa-Lobos

O Polichinelo

Muzio Clementi

Sonata Quasi Concerto in C Major, Op. 33

Moritz Moszkowski

Virtuoso Etudes, Op. 72 (No. 6 in F Major, No. 11 in A-flat Major)

Edward MacDowell

Moto Perpetuo, Op. 46, No. 2

Scott Joplin

Maple Leaf Rag, Pineapple Rag, Elite Syncopations, The Entertainer

IV.

ORCHESTRAL CONVERGENCE

Piano Concertos

  • Beethoven: Concertos Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (Complete)
  • Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30
  • Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
  • Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26
  • Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, S.124
  • Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Major, S.125
  • Liszt: Totentanz: Danse Macabre (Piano and Orchestra), S.126
  • Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23